Our Fitness Blog

Reduce Stress During the Holiday Season: BONUS! Life Hack

Sometimes this time of year just doesn’t feel all sugar plums and fairies, simply because there is so much to do. We want to do it all, and try to be super heroes for everyone we know. We shop for the holidays, host dinner parties, decorate and more. Some days it’s merry and bright and some days it’s just exhausting!

How can we keep our sanity?

SANITY SAVER #1:

Keeping some sort of minimum standard for our workout routine is number one on my list because I always feel better after any workout, even just a quick one. No matter how tired I am, it is never something I regret. While the 9Round workout is just 30 minutes, be honest…there are days when you don’t even have that! Right? If you can get in at all, it’s better than nothing. I would opt for a 15-20 minute 9Round workout over no workout at all. You could do that on the busiest of days if you had to! Your 9Round Trainer would understand!

If that’s not even an option, then this is where you simply have to remember to put yourself first, even while you’re making giving to others your goal. Give to yourself as well. Take 10 minutes out for yourself and do a simple alternating circuit of upper and lower exercises at home until your timer goes off.

Examples of this are:

10 pushups/20 squats=1 set

15 mountain climbers/10 lunge hops=1 set

See how many sets you can get in the 10 minutes. Do this while you cook! Do it with your kids! Do this while your child is soaking in the tub and you’re supervising.

You can even do it with a household chore like this: Load two plates in the dishwasher, do 5 pushups. Do this until the load is set. There, you just worked in 30-40 pushups while you worked.

I do a TON of my shopping online these holidays, as busy as I am. I find that the shipping in most cases is free this time of year, and if it’s not, I just think of the gas money I saved by not driving and all the crowds I avoided. More than anything I saved time, and time isn’t something you can get back. This also allows me to shop after the kids are in bed and that way, most of my days throughout the holiday season as really business as usual during the work day and I still get all my gifts accounted for!

SANITY SAVER #2:

Another MUST for healthy minded folks who are holiday shopping is that you need to prep yourself for success and carry smart snacks and water with you! If you rely on self will at a moment when you're starting to feel HANGRY (real disease when hunger sets in suddenly and it makes you meaner than Scrooge) then you will most likely not succeed. You will end up grabbing sugary empty calories or fried foods at the closest food kiosk available and send your serotonin and metabolism on a downward spiral. Keep a bottle of water in your hand at all times so that you resist calorie filled drinks and so that you stay hydrated. Keep a gallon in your car to refill between stores! Dehydration is a sneaky underlying cause of many cravings for bad foods!

You could get more creative if you wish, but these are all go to choices that require no refrigeration and fit in a purse or bag easily.

LIFE HACK:

If you're like me, there's not one store that has every item you need for your weekly list. So, I have a separate note on my iPhone for each store I visit regularly. When I need an item from my grocery store it goes there. The hardware/garden supply store has its own list. Sporting goods store has its own list, pet store, and so on. This way, I have an organized way to view only what’s needed at that particular store when I am inside it. I erase each typed item as I put it in my cart and then, when I leave the store, the note is blank again, except at the top where it says the store name. It’s a "living list", always updated and accurate and super simple for me to keep up with. Much easier than one long list for 5 different stores. This is something I do year round, not just during the holiday season. It's a life changer. Try it!

Heather Hudson has been with 9Round since inception in 2008 and is COO and Co-Founder of 9Round Franchising. She is a black belt in Shotokan Karate and grew up with a passion for fitness and overall wellness.